Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Adventure of FaithFr. Robert Barron"Whenever the Bible speaks of Abraham, it is speaking of faith, for he is
our father in faith. The story of the Akeda, the great test of faith
and obedience, comes near the end of a lifetime of faith. As we enter
more deeply into Lent, it would behoove us to take a quick look at where
Abraham’s story began.

Abram, at the age of 75, was summoned by God to leave his home city
and, with everything he owned, to begin a wandering trek in the desert
in search of a land that God would show him. The miracle is that he did
it since, at first he seems to be wavering in faith. He needs some kind
of guarantee.

God makes a formal covenant with him, and he does so in the standard
manner of the time. He tells Abram to bring several animals forward and
to cut them in two, laying their halves side-by-side. The idea is that
the two people entering into an agreement would walk in between the
severed pieces and swear that the same would happen to them if they
broke the covenant.

Abram falls into a trance and a deep terrifying darkness came over
him. Here we see his side of the deal. What does trance imply if not a
loss of control? When you fall asleep or unconscious, you are
practically defenseless. And doesn’t darkness signal the same thing? The
fear of the dark is primordial. We don’t know where we are going, and
that is so frustrating! So it is with the things of God.

But then we see God’s side of the deal. “When the sun had set and it
was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch which
passed between those pieces.” In the form of fire, God signals his
covenant fidelity. God can be trusted, even when he is leading us
through the deepest darkness. This means that great faith is
justified—for Abram, and for us."

"WhenJesus told the parable of the “prodigal son”, I believe He was also giving a prophetic vision of the end times. That is, a picture of how the the world would be welcomed into the Father’s house through Christ’s Sacrifice…"

"Hello dear sisters today I wanted to share with you all my opinions on weather or not Christian women should wear pants. I don't think Christian ladies should wear pants because:

1. They outline the lower half of the body: In this picture nothing is
really left to guess about the lower half of these women's bodies, you
can perfectly see the outlining of her legs, thighs and rear. Even on a
looser pair of pants you can still tell the outlining of these
areas.Pants not only outline the lower half of the body but they also
blur the line between men and women dressing differently from one
another. (hence the term "boyfriend jeans")The clothes that women wear
send a message, if a Christian women is wearing a pair of tight pants
she is telling the world I really don't care about modesty, which can be
a very confusing testimony for some because it states clearly in the
Bible Christian women are to dress modestly. (1 Timothy) Long skirt's
are much more modest.
Even these "looser" pants outline places of
the body that shouldn't be focused on, and the way pants are designed
there's a triangle shape that leads up the body like an arrow.

2. They aren't feminine: Pant's were originally designed for men, pants
only became women's wear when women would borrow the pants of there
boyfriends (hence the name boyfriend jeans)
“The woman shall not
wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a
woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy
God.” Deuteronomy 22:5
I do believe that pants were originally
made for men and although they eventually produced pants made for women I
don't believe that makes them Biblical to wear, if a women wore a loose
shirt, jeans and sneakers couldn't a man walk in that's dressed exactly
like her? I believe this blurs the line of differences between the
sexes placed there by God, and I believe that's what this Bible verse is
talking about.
I understand other people's view that if you wear
a long shirt or something to cover the front and back of the outlined
lower body, but to me this still wouldn't feel feminine or modest. The
lower leg would still be outlined by the pants.

3.Many Christian
men have expressed that they won't find pants to be modest on women,
they to claim that the outlining of the lower body can be a stumbling
block for them. The wearing of pants doesn't go both ways because women
don't have the same mind set as men do. Men can fall into sinful
thoughts just by looking at a women, we don't want to be stumbling
blocks to our brothers rather we want to be encouraging in their walks
with God.

Romans 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any
longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in
the way of a brother.
So these are the reasons I don't wear
pants and don't encourage my Christian sisters to do so. God bless dear
sisters, please feel free and share your opinions in the comments!"
~ Taylor Willett

I will praise thee, O lord, with my whole heart: for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to thee in the sight of his angels:
I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to thy name.

For thy mercy, and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me: thou shall multiply strength in my soul.

May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee: for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.

For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low: and the high he knoweth afar off.
If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, thou wilt quicken me: and thou hast stretched forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies: and thy right hand hath saved me.

The Lord will repay for me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: O despise not the work of thy hands.

Jesus said to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to
those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."

"I often smile when I think of that story of St. Francis who, while gardening, was asked: “What would you do if you knew the world would end today?” He replied, “I suppose I would finish hoeing this row of beans.” Herein lies the wisdom of Francis: the duty of the moment is the will of God...."

"When you fail to measure up to your Christian privilege, be not
discouraged for discouragement is a form of pride. The reason you are
sad is because you looked to yourself
and not to God; to your failings not to His love. You will shake off
your faults more readily when you love God than when you criticize
yourself. You have always the right to love Him in your heart even
though you do not love Him in your acts. God is biased in your favor.
God is more lenient than you because he is perfectly good and therefore
loves you more. Be bold enough then to believe that God is on your side,
even when you forget to be on His." ~ Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Preface to
Religion)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

"O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my
heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so
many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.

I want to
be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living
reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of
Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' soul and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my
neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never
speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and
forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be
merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my
neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my
neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in
the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be
merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I
will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who,
I know, will abuse my kindness. And, I will lock myself up in the most
merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May
Your mercy O Lord, rest upon me.

You Yourself command me to
exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy of
whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy--if I cannot carry out a
work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer--if I
cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My
prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically. O my
Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things."
~ Saint
Maria Faustina Kowalska #163

(Thank you for visiting my blog...if I can be of any help to you, especially through prayer, email me:
bethiemccarthy(at)yahoo.com)

"In the Beatitudes, and indeed in the whole Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
5-8), the Lord is painting a picture of the transformed human person..."

The Great Adventureby Mark Mallett **********
(note to readers: if you have a blog and would like to share your posts with more readers, please let me know if I can share a link to your post here, like the one above. All posts must be strictly Catholic and follow the Magisterium) bethiemccarthy@yahoo.com

"Our God is a living God, and God wants us to share his life. This is why
“God planted a garden in Eden…and he placed there the man he had
formed.” In Eden he gave us near total freedom as a sign of his good
will and his desire that we fulfill ourselves in every direction.
Politics, art, science, literature, philosophy, music, sports,
entertainment—all that conduces to human flourishing is desired by God.
But then enters the serpent. Like us, the serpent is a creature of
God. He is totally dependent on God for his life. He is not some sort of
co-equal rival to God. The Church has always taught that evil is
parasitic on the good, not a substantive opponent.
Nevertheless, he is a wily opponent. He forces Eve to wonder about
the prohibition: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the
trees in the garden?” When she clarifies, he says, “You certainly will
not die! God knows well that the moment you eat of it you will be like
gods knowing good and evil.”
This is the great temptation and the great lie. The serpent places in
the minds of Adam and Eve the conviction that unless and until they
determine the meaning and purpose of their lives, they will not be free.
To put it in modern terms, their lives will not be lived to the
fullest.
But the knowledge of good and evil is the godlike prerogative to set
the agenda for one’s life, to determine the difference between right and
wrong. And this belongs to God alone. Just as he breathed life and
being into us, so he breathes moral and spiritual purpose into us.
When we convince ourselves that we live on our own terms, we cease to be truly free and alive.
When Adam and Eve grasped at this knowledge, they were expelled from
the garden, not because God is vindictive, but because it is the natural
consequence of making oneself into God.
When we grasp at divinity, whatever life we have dries up. We become
small souls, locked in the prison of our egotism, victims of the Great
Lie."

"We lost something important when our Western culture ‘outgrew’ its infatuation with obscenely large cathedrals, ornate basilicas, dark stone chapels, stretching towers, and lonely crypts. We lost something important – a unique human experience – when religious people began their relationship with the plaster-church over the ‘old-school’ church....."

Saturday, February 14, 2015

“The human heart is not shaped like a valentine heart, perfect and
regular in contour it is slightly irregular in shape as if a small piece
of it were missing out of its side. The
missing part may very well symbolize a piece that a spear tore out of
the universal heart of humanity on the Cross, but it probably symbolizes
something more. It may very well mean that when God created each human
heart, he kept a small sample of it in heaven, and sent the rest of it
into the world, where it would each day learn the lesson that it could
never be really happy, that it could never be really wholly in love,
that it could never be really whole-hearted until it rested with the
Risen Christ in an eternal Easter.”~ Archbishop Fulton Sheen
(Manifestations of Christ)

Friday, February 13, 2015

Lord, I give thanks for all those You have brought into my life...those who have stayed a little while, and those who have stayed a long while. Some You took away, and brought back Home to Yourself. Others you have allowed to stay, as they had more to learn here. I am grateful for all those I've been blessed to know. I only want to Love. I only want to serve You, in whatever way You have planned for me. I have no fear in going or staying, I am not afraid. You are with me always and everywhere. Your Peace is all around and in me. Thank You, Lord. I Love YOU!

"What
a weakness it is to love Jesus Christ only when He caresses us, and to
be cold immediately once He afflicts us. This is not true love. Those
who love thus, love themselves too much to love God with all their
heart."
~ Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Our Lord Jesus Christ, Heart of the Universe, I Love YOU with all my heart!

"A man named Valentinus was martyred on February 14 late in the third
century A.D.—this much we know. But when it comes to details about the
life of St. Valentine, legend often supersedes fact. As you celebrate
this Valentine’s Day, find out the truth about the man for whom the day
is named, as well as some other intriguing facts about history's most
romantic holiday."

Thursday, February 12, 2015

This Lent ... Read, Reflect, Respond During this penitential season, immerse yourself in the word of God and allow it to influence your actions and your prayer life
- See more at:
https://www.osv.com/MyFaith/ChurchSeasonsandFeasts/Lent/Article/TabId/830/ArtMID/13773/ArticleID/16885/This-Lent--Read-Reflect-Respond.aspx#sthash.VXqA17Y5.dpuf

This Lent ... Read, Reflect, Respond During this penitential season, immerse yourself in the word of God and allow it to influence your actions and your prayer life
- See more at:
https://www.osv.com/MyFaith/ChurchSeasonsandFeasts/Lent/Article/TabId/830/ArtMID/13773/ArticleID/16885/This-Lent--Read-Reflect-Respond.aspx#sthash.VXqA17Y5.dpuf

This Lent ... Read, Reflect, Respond During this penitential season, immerse yourself in the word of God and allow it to influence your actions and your prayer life
- See more at:
https://www.osv.com/MyFaith/ChurchSeasonsandFeasts/Lent/Article/TabId/830/ArtMID/13773/ArticleID/16885/This-Lent--Read-Reflect-Respond.aspx#sthash.VXqA17Y5.dpuf

In 1858 the immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, near Lourdes in France, in the cavern called “de Massabielle.” Through this poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Mary calls on sinners to change their lives. She has inspired in the Church a great love of prayer and good works, especially in the service of the poor and the sick.

" 880 When Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them." Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another."

881 The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head." This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.

882 The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful." "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."

883 "The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head." As such, this college has "supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff.""

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Doctor of the Church...
A title given to Saints who were outstanding ecclesiastical writers. There are now 33 of them. Four are called the traditional great doctors of the Church. These are shown with an '*'.
The list is in chronological order.

St. Athanasius....................297-373, Bishop of Alexandria.
St. Ephraem Syrus.............306-373, Biblical exegete. Called, 'Harp of the Holy Spirit'.
St. Hilary of Poitiers...........315-368, Bishop, called Athanasius of the West.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem.........315-387, Bishop, opponent of Arianism.
St. Basil the Great..............329-379, Father of Monasticism in the East.
St. Gregory of Nazianzus...330-390, called, 'The Theologian' in the Eastern Church.
St. Ambrose......................340-397, Bishop of Milan. *
St. Jerome.........................343-420, the Father of Biblical Science. *
St. John Chrysostom..........347-407, Bishop of Constantinople. He was called 'Golden Mouthed'.
St. Augustine.....................354-430, Bishop of Hippo. *
St. Cyril of Alexandria........376-444, Patriarch, opponent of Nestorianism.
St. Peter Chrysologus.........400-450, Bishop of Ravenna, Golden Worded.
St. Leo the Great................400-461, Pope, wrote against Nestorius.
St. Gregory I the Great.......540-604, Pope, wrote for Papal supremacy. *
St. Isadore of Seville..........560-636, Archbishop, regarded as the most learned of his time.
St. Bede the Venerable.......673-735, Benedictine priest, father of English history.
St. John Damascene...........675-749, Greek theologian, 'Golden speaker'.
St. Peter Damian..............1007-1072, Benedictine, ecclesiastical reform.
St. Anselm.......................1033-1109, Archbishop of Canterbury.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux...1090-1153, Cistercian, noted for his eloquence.
St. Anthony of Padua.......1195-1231, Franciscan Friar, evangelical Doctor.
St. Albert the Great..........1200-1280, Dominican, patron of natural scientists.
St. Bonaventure...............1217-1274, Franciscan theologian, Seraphic Doctor.
St. Thomas Aquinas.........1225-1274, Dominican philosopher.
St. Catherine of Sienna.....1347-1380, Dominican, mystic, 2nd woman doctor.
St. Teresa of Avila............1515-1582, Carmelite nun, 1st woman doctor.
St. Peter Canisius.............1521-1597, Jesuit theologian, leader in the counter reformation.
St. John of the Cross........1542-1591, Doctor of mystical theology.
St. Robert Bellarmine........1542-1621, Jesuit, defended doctrine during the reformation.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi....1559-1619, vigorous preacher, influential in counter reformation.
St. Francis de Sales..........1567-1622, Bishop, leader in counter reformation.
St. Alphonsus Liguori........1697-1787, founder of Redemptorists.
St. Therese of Lisieux........1873-1897, 'Little Flower', 3rd woman doctor. (as of Oct 19, 1997)

The Church celebrates today World Marriage Sunday–showing the fundamental importance of marriage and the family to the life of Christianity. The communion of persons that is formed by a baptized husband and wife is a Sacrament, an icon, and a reflection of the communion of Persons that is the Holy Trinity. Marriage is fundamentally about a life of communion, sacramental communion in the case of baptized spouses. Not that any married couples have achieved perfect communion. Rather, marriage is the training ground, the discipline, and the school for growing toward that communion. This is a key attitude for a successful marriage.

Such a sweet and tender article about married love, spiritual conversion, and growing old together.
Made me cry....

Friday, February 6, 2015

"The archbishop is simply reminding employees of this by explicitly stating that administrators, faculty and staff members are not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny Catholic teachings on the Truth of the evil of abortion and euthanasia, and the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. Archbishop Cordileone should be applauded for having the courage to make that religious mission explicit for those who teach in his archdiocese."